Where She Fell by Kaitlin Ward

Author:Kaitlin Ward
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.

He steps out when he sees me looking at him, my mouth agape in horror. He’s wearing his sword at his hip. His face creased with his ever-present serious expression.

“You can’t ask people to leave,” he says bluntly.

“Why not?” I fold my arms. This confrontation plucks at all the anxious parts of my brain.

“Because they won’t go. They don’t want to go.”

“They do,” I insist. “We’re all just brainwashed and need to be snapped out of it.”

As I say the words, I realize how true they are. I feel awakened right now. Plugged into reality. And I don’t know how long it will last.

“Alice,” I say through gritted teeth. “We need to ask everyone now.”

She nods agreement.

Glenn grabs my arm roughly. “You don’t know what a mistake you’re making. You don’t know everything you think you do. This cave wants to keep us, but it can’t do that on its own.”

“Let go of her.” Alice’s voice is dangerous. “She’s right. We’re going to ask everyone and we’re doing it now before you can stop us.”

Glenn releases my arm. “You’re young,” he says harshly. “And foolish. You think I’m trying to intimidate you, but I’m trying to save you. I—”

“Save the thinly veiled threats for someone else,” Alice says coolly and takes my hand. “Let’s go, Eliza.”

And we do. Glenn doesn’t follow.

Eleanor sees us at once. “What’s the matter?” she asks, pulling us to the side. “You both look like you just had a run-in with a cave wolf.”

“Something like that,” I say. My whole body trembles, fighting panic. “Listen, we need to get everyone’s attention, like, right now.”

“Everything okay?” She slides an arm around my waist.

I absorb the comfort of her gesture. “It will be.”

“Well.” She grins. “I’m loud. I’ll get their attention.”

She accomplishes this in the most obvious way possible: by climbing up onto one of the seats around the fire and shouting, “Eliza needs everyone’s attention over here immediately, please!”

Her voice echoes around the cavern, loud enough to make me flinch. Seems like the sound could practically carry on down to the bioluminescents in their own little village not far below us.

Once everyone’s staring at me, I start to feel very sweaty. How am I in charge of this? I look to Alice, but she just smiles encouragingly.

My voice wavers when I speak: “This cave wants to keep us here. It has us convinced we belong, but we don’t. Some of us will live longer than others, but none of us will make it as long as we should. That baby?” I gesture toward the infant, whose mother, Amy, pulls her closer. “She’ll never see the sun. Never go to school. Never play sports or have fights or go away to college. Not if she stays here. But she could do all of it. This is not our home and we can leave it.”

Everyone gasps, and I, myself, am just as startled. I’m saying the words and part of me believes them, but another part whisper-screams NO. This is my home, and my words are wrong.

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